John R. Philip

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John Robert Philip (1927 - 1999) was an Australian soil physicist instrumental in facilitating a greater understanding of movement of water, energy and gases and his work within these fields is recognized internationally. While Philip never performed his own experimental work, he was recognised for his skills in mathematics that could be used to explain physical processes and solve real world problems. While identified as a leading figure in Environmental mechanics his areas of interest were not limited to all things mathematical, with Philip expressing a keen interest in the arts, being a published writer of poetry and a panelist on the Sulman Prize for Architecture. His poetry appears in anthologies edited by Judith Wright and in The Oxford Book of Australian Verse.

The major and most recognised area of Philip’s research was his work on the theory of infiltration. He derived the theory for one dimensional infiltration and developed equations which described the infiltration on both a short term and long term scale, with the revelation that when ponded infiltration in uniform soils occurs, the flow will approach the saturated hydraulic conductivity:

I = S \sqrt{t}\ + A t

where S is sorptivity and A is the steady-state infiltration rate.

However, the work of Philip was not limited to infiltration as he also extended his research areas:

  • Examining heat and mass transfer in soils.
  • Philip also considered the importance of relationships between organisms and the environment. This included theories on plant canopies, with particular focus on investigation of crop stomatal or surface resistances. Philip was also responsible for the construction of the Soil plant atmosphere continuum which is used to explain the transfer of water within transpiration paths, a concept which has since been expanded upon.
  • Philip also studied advection, the horizontal movement of atmospheric properties e.g. temperature and while his analysis and solutions were not completed, his initial work has been important for development of solutions to problems such as long-term flux assessments.

John Philip’s work within the area of soil physics was extensive. While best known for his theories on infiltration his work on heat transport and ecological principles provided solutions to real world problems and a foundation on which future researchers could build. His work was critical in providing solutions and mathematical analysis of problems which were previously poorly defined or not well understood. His contribution to soil physics will not be easily forgotten.


Contents

[edit] Life of J.R. Philip

  • Born in Ballarat, 18 January 1927.
  • Recipient of a Scholarship for Scotch College, Melbourne.
  • Matriculated at age 13.
  • Bachelor of Civil Engineering, University of Melbourne (1943-1946).
  • Appointed to the CSIR Irrigation Research Station, Griffith.
  • CSIRO's Plant Industry in Deniliquin (1951).
  • Engineer for the Queensland Water Supply Commission.
  • CSIRO Division of Plant Industry.
  • Foundation chief of the new Centre for Environmental Mechanics (1971-1992).
  • Foundation director of the CSIRO Institute of Physical Sciences (1980-1983).
  • Retired 1992.
  • Died Amsterdam, 26 June 1999.

[edit] Achievements

[edit] Reference

  • Smiles, D. (2001). The Environmental Mechanic. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 39, 4, 649-681.

[edit] External links

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